The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1887-10-14
WHAT ARE TRUFFLES?-
THE CURIOUS HISTORY OF A FOR
EIGN TABLE LUXURY.
How and Where the Plant Grows-POOdIes
Trained to Find Them-The Only
Objection to Their Use
- The Demand.
New York. Tribune.1

~Ihe Importation Of truffies to this country
is on the increase" said JGcob Meyer, who,
until recently, was engaged In raising them
in Germany, near Hanover. "They are
looked upon as great luxury In Europe,
and 1 have often wondered why they were
not more used here"
"What are truffies?"
"They are fungous growth, similar to
4, the mushrooms, and are found generally In
soil impregnated with lime and always in the
neighborhood of oak or beech trees. They
are found under the ground at distance
varying from an inch to foot and are sup
posed to be parasite living in their early
stage upon the roots of trees. They are
obIong or spherical, and vary from the size of
an English walnut to that of large potato.
Quite frequently l have known them to
weigh two pounds, and once l found one that
weighed three and a half pounds. Some are
of a dull white color, but the black or brown
truff1e has the finest flavor and brings the
best price. Their surface is rough and COW
cred with excrescences resembling warts,
and, Judging from the exterior, they would
not be selected as an article of food. In
ternally they resemble a dark colored mar
BILE, and are different from other known
forms of fungi. But little is known about
their propagation and growth. The repro
ductive portion is found in minute sacs,
which contain number of spores, and are
small veins that traverse the mass in every
direction. In growing they are not attached
to any other body, and lie loosely imbedded
in the earth"
"In what localities are truffies found?"
"They are found in the greatest profusion
in southern France, and these are also of the
best quality. They also grow in some parts
of England, Germany, Italy, Australia, and
Africa. I have never heard of any being
III ~,
here, where have endeavored to transplant
them, as well as in Germany, where spent
many years in fntile efforts to cultivate them
artiicially, has led me to approve the opin-
ion Of trutfie hunters, that a truff1e is the
most contrary thing in the world When
forced or cOaxed, not one will appear; and
frequently a field will be unexpectedly filed
No one knows where they come from.
have taken small truff1e out of the
ground, filed up the hole, and the next day
taken larger one from exactly the same
spot. Removing this second one, I have
taken third and still larger one from the
same spot on the next day. Then for five
days not a sign of truffle could be seem On
the sixth day a small truffle would be found
in exactly the same spot and the others
would be found as before. They would
alternately appear and disappear in this
manner for about three months, and then
grow so quickly as to awaken establishment,
and again will increase in size with the slow
ness of century plant.
''The odor of the Auff1e is aromatic, De-
culiar to itself and will speedily penetrate
every room in house. 1t produces nausea in
some people, and in others a sense of light
headedness."
"Is there any particular way of finding
theme"
eyes. In England and Germany dogs are
trained to find them, generally poodles or
Spitz dogs. A truffle is given to one of these
dogs to play with, and then is taken into a
field and planted in sight of the dog. When
feeding time comes the dog is taken to where
the truff1e is buried, and he is given to
understand that his getting food depends
upon finding the truffie Some dogs are
remarkably apt, and will gather the
idea in few trials, while others will
never comprehend your meaning. As
soon as they are trained they are turned
loose in truffle-bed, and will move radidly
around with noses close to the ground until
they scent the peculiar truff1e odor. They
will then begin to scratch the soil. and care
must be taken to stop them or they will tear
the truff1e to pieces. A good dog, however
will stop scratching as soon as the truff1e
comes in view. Sometimes they are buried
so deeply that the dogs cannot reach them
They will then lie by the hole and patiently
wait for help. In the southern part of
France and Italy, sows which are passion
ately fond of truffles, take the place of dogs,
and search for them as an article of food.
Hunters follow the sows around and gather
the truffles as as the sows begin to root
There is company at Perigord, France,
who are large purchasers of truff1es. They
cook them and put them up in sealed tin
cans by a secret process. The strong odor is
not noticeable in the canned goods, and they
have not the delicious flavor of the fresh
truffies. The French use more of them than
any other nation, and they are almost the
only consumers in this country. The only
objections to their universal use is their
scarcity and cost. There are plenty of
truffies beds yet undiscovered, and some
day. no doubt, an improved system of
searching for them will be invented, and
this rare flavor will become common TO every
table. Delmonico imports truffles for his res
taurant direct from France He serves them
sometimes with steaks like mushrooms, but
seldom are they eaten alone on account of
their expense, and because the appetite of
but few can stand a large dose of them
They are cut into thin slices and used princi
pally as a condiment for boned turkey and
chicken, scrambled eggs, fillets of beef, game,
and fish. When mixed in due proportion
they add peculiar zest and spice to sauces
that cannot be found in any other plant in
the vegetable kingdom. There is quite a
large and increasing demand for them"
"
GentIemen's Hats in England.